For the uninitiated, Speaker Nancy Pelosi started the Impeachment proceedings against President Trump in late September due to concerns over a leaked phone call between our President and the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The phone call allegedly consisted of Trump threatening to withhold U.S. military aid to Ukraine until Zelensky promised to look into Joe Biden's son, Hunter (more information here, though it's not actually that important), as well as Hilary Clinton's emails. Because... that's still relevant?
Regardless, congressional hearings looking into this matter started very recently and are ongoing. This could potentially be evidence of our President asking a foreign country to help him get re-elected. Which is illegal, potentially in a few ways.
I know this sounds like a super weird thing to say, but they are actually super fun to watch. It's a cool example of our democracy in action, and it's just so interesting to watch history happen in front of me. I mean this is stuff that's going to be on the AP exam in a few years!
Some highlights from the last few days include Purple-Heart Award recipient Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman making an absolute fool of Republican Congressman Devin Nunes (representing a sliver of CA near eastern Fresno) when Nunes "forgot" his rank. Another great moment from this evening was our very own Representative Adam Schiff of CA's 28th calling out the blatant corruption and lies we've been subject to for the last 3 years.
So if you have some time watch some of it. You can show off to Mr. Stewart if he asks about it. ;)
I find your title fitting and reasonable considering the circumstances. It does seem, at some points, like a reality TV show. One thing I'd like to add is the face of Nunes before the congressional hearing took a break (see link below). It went viral, and I think is funny to think about in terms of this "reality TV show." Beyond comedy though, these proceedings have important political consequences. Even if the Senate does not convict Trump (which may be likely), Trump will have a large smear on his political career. If it's enough to stop a reelection (if the status quo is trending towards that), is something that I can't know. In any case, the proceedings are important and I thought you had a good write-up.
ReplyDeleteLink: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/471395-nunes-facial-expression-right-before-lawmakers-took-break-from
Your blog actually speaks to a much deeper issue in the political system of America: the public feels so detached from politics, that it is a reality TV show to them. Looking into this further, I found this article: https://www.alternet.org/2019/11/in-a-huge-win-for-trump-americas-cynical-infotainment-oriented-media-conclude-that-impeachment-is-boring/. This article is really interesting because it spoke to the reason we hear so little about the impeachment on the news (such as the fact that it has begun, and has had two testification against Trump with substantial evidence). However, in terms of the medias eyes, these testimonies were simply "boring". Clinton was much more entertaining to watch as he tried to nationally defend his image against sexual accusations. Now, there is actual substance and a lack of tears, so the media, and therefore the public, has turned away from one of the most important things happening in politics right now, if not the most important. This is not a very good democratic system, as now voters will continue to support Trump simply because they have not been seeing news and updates from the impeachment process.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, as I also enjoy following the news. I thought your title was very creative and fitting, given today’s political climate. Continuing the analogy of comparing political news to reality TV shows, I feel that consumers need to remind themselves that while these companies aim to inform you about current events, their main purpose is still to make money. AT&T (which owns CNN) and Comcast (which owns NBC) both have a market cap of over $200 billion, and even The New York Times has a market cap of $5 billion. While I do not accuse them of doing so, these companies have the incentive to attract customers by making the news more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the debates and often find it very funny to compare each news outlets on their reporting of the impeachment process. Each one has their own political views and in that way they all have different stories for the impeachment proceedings. So if the average american is learning about these impeachment proceedings through the media outlets, they may have entirely different opinions based upon which outlet they listen to.
ReplyDelete